Maths

This half-term our maths units will be: Perimeter and 3,6,9 times tables. In Year 4 we follow the NCETM Curriculum Map. More information on this can be found here: NCETM Curriculum Map

Pupils will also undertake Mastering Number sessions five times a week with their class teacher. These sessions focus on developing fluency in multiplication and division facts, and a confidence and flexibility with number.

Our focus times table this half-term is the 7 times table.

Writing

Writing this half-term is based around the books FArTHER and Until I Met Dudley. Both stories revolve around the creation of inventions. The first piece of writing based on FArTHER allows the children to explore a fantastical creation that helps to fulfil a multi-generational dream and touches on some heartfelt emotive writing. Until I Met Dudley mixes fact and fiction and the children write in the style of the book, giving both a fantastical and then accurate explanation of how our modern-day appliances work in our households.

Spelling

Children have daily spelling lessons focussing on a different spelling rule each week.

Reading

In reading, we read The Wild Robot. This book allows the children to explore a mix of adventure and family-based stories, helping them to understand how vocabulary choices allow the author to switch between moods and styles depending on the predicaments the characters find themselves in. The children also read and explore The Story of Flight, a non-fiction book covering the history of aviation from the first aeroplane built, right up to modern day jets. This book offers a fact-based learning journey, allowing the children to explore a common mode of transport and how the aircraft has evolved from its birth to its modern-day incarnation.

History

The children will be shown how long ago the Ancient Egyptian period was by creating a human timeline. They will be looking into the archaeology of the period as well as learning about the importance of hierarchy at the time. They will also be learning to write their names in hieroglyphics as well as the importance of their gods and mummification in order for the (rich) Egyptian people to pass into the afterlife.

Science

Our focus is on electricity: how it is produced, how it is used in our homes and how we can build circuits using materials that are conductors and insulators.

DT

The Mayor of Smallville needs the children's help! He wants to create a safe system for the street lights and train line buzzers for Smallville. He needs to be able to design an electrical system to run them. The children need to create circuits that need to be safe and not create a short circuit. They also need to be able to be switched off during daytime hours.

Religion & Worldviews

Our R&W topic this term is Christianity with a focus on Christmas. Children will aim to answer the question 'What is the most significant part of the nativity story for Christians today?'

PSHE

In PSHE we are learning about our Golden Rules and what it means to be kind, how to resolve conflict and make others feel welcome by being a good friend. We will discuss how we can show kindness though our actions and read stories which help us to reflect on how to solve problems we may face. November normally marks Anti-Bullying week, where we focus on what we can do to show respect to others.

PE

This term our PE days are Monday and Wednesday. On these days, children should come to school wearing their PE kit.

On Mondays the children will have Swimming lessons. Please bring a swim kit. The other PE topic this half-term is Tag Rugby.

Computing

The focus this half-term is Computing Systems and Networks: The Internet. In this unit, learners will apply their knowledge and understanding of networks, to appreciate the internet as a network of networks which need to be kept secure. They will learn that the World Wide Web is part of the internet, and will be given opportunities to explore the World Wide Web for themselves in order to learn about who owns content and what they can access, add, and create. Finally, they will evaluate online content to decide how honest, accurate, or reliable it is, and understand the consequences of false information.

Music

Composition and Performance. Building on their last skill and linking to the history topic of Ancient Egypt, we will now discover the pentatonic scale. For this topic, we will explore 5 notes in the minor key: F G Bb C Eb and F and use mostly pitched percussion (glockenspiels and xylophones). With the help of a DAW (digital audio workstation on Audacity), the children will create their own graphic scores, to compose and play a class piece together.